LE PASSAGE DE PONDICHERY | Paris 10

Le Passage de Pondichery is a good Indian restaurant nested in the Passage Brady near the Gare du Nord. Passages are strange corridors hidden all over Paris that are often overlooked. That’s too bad because one often finds lots of good options to eat in the Passages. There is a host of Indian restaurants in the Passage Brady, and you’ll probably be hailed on your way by waiters handing you menus, but we know our way and go straight to the Passage de Pondichery. Don’t get frighten by the extravagant setting, full of Indian goddess statues and gaudy tapestries — obviously everything is authentic.

Let’s begin with a bunch of cheese naans. Probably not the best naans we’ve ever had in Paris (let alone India) but they’re pretty solid. The cheese filing is not outstanding, somewhat stodgy but still flavourful.

Butter chicken. The meat is not as tasty as I’d like it but it’s pretty tender and tasty. You cannot expect top notch chicken quality here but this is true Indian comfort food. The chicken biryani from the Passage de Pondichery is more of a disappointment. The rice is really overcooked, and the thick grains are too flabby. The spice aroma is not satisfying and miss the target, it’s not tasty ay all.

Le Passage Pondichery is not a tourist trap. Definitely not the best Indian restaurant in Paris but it offers correct Indian cuisine near the Gare du Nord. Prices are simply amazing here (about €15 meal is a real bargain in Paris). But it’s too bad the chef was really off tracks with the mediocre biryani. (Our pictures are far from being perfect too, please excuse the poor quality.) Another Indian restaurant supposed to be worth a visit in the Passage Brady is Pooja, we’ll review it next time !